India lost the 3rd T20I by 12 runs against Australia in Sydney. The T20I series thus finishes 2-1 as the Aussies earn a consolation win at the SCG. Meanwhile, India’s 10-match winning streak is broken with a loss in their 11th. This was also their first defeat away from home since losing to losing to NZ in Hamilton in Feb 2019. More about the match report in detail below.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and asked Australia to bat first. Aaron Finch returned to the side but was out for a duck. Mathew Wade, keeping his form going brought up his second back to back fifty and his highest T20I score. With Glenn Maxwell who scored 54 off 36 balls, Wade added 90 runs for the third wicket after the fall of Steve Smith (24) in the 10th over. It was this partnership that pushed Australia beyond 150 and they eventually ended up scoring 186 for 5 after the end of their 20 overs.
For India, Washington Sundar picked two wickets and Natarajan bowled his most expensive spell in the series. He finished with 1 for 33.
In the chase, India lost the wicket of KL Rahul in the very first over. Shikhar Dhawan looked impressive for his 28 and added 74 for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (85) before getting dismissed in the ninth over. Sanju Samson yet again was out for a low score, scoring just 10 off 9 balls. Shreyas Iyer, in this game, was out in the very first delivery.
Also Read: India Denied DRS Review After Goof Up From Third Umpire in 3rd T20I
India Lost 3rd T20I By 12 Runs
India required 87 from the final seven overs when Hardik Pandya came out to bat. he scored a quickfire 20 off 13 balls and added 44 runs with Kohli. Pandya’s dismissal in the 18th over with the score on 144, meant that India had too much to do with Kohli still at the wicket. Soon after Pandya fell, Virat Kohli fell in the 19th over as well. That ended India’s hopes of a win as they reached 174/7 after the end of their 20 overs. Shardul Thakur scored 17 off 7 balls with some lusty blows in the final over but it was not enough.
After losing the ODI series 2-1, India came back well to win the T20I series 2-1. The Test series starts with the Pink-Ball Test from December 17 as the players from both teams will enjoy a 10-day break.
What was the Turning Point of the Match ?
Hardik Pandya’s dismissal in the 18th over was the big turning point in the game. The match had a few other turning points as well. Maxwell was dismissed of a no-ball from Yuzvendra Chchal and Wade got a few lives after the Indian fielders dropped him twice during their innings.
Mitchell Swepson for his spell of 3 for 23 was awarded the Man of the Match.
“Happy to get this award, and win the game for my side. I think that was a bit of a skidder, but I’m happy to say that I gave it a bit of a rip and got that wicket (the Iyer wicket)” said Swepson.
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya for his consistency with the bat was awarded the Man of the Series. It was this element of his game which was missing and in this series, he has provided that. He ended the series with 78 runs from three games striking at 156.76.
 “I’m very pleased, and wouldn’t mind getting the Man of the Series award, but it was a team effort. After the 2nd ODI we thought we’d think of this as a 4-match series and we managed to get three wins, so happy with that. I don’t mind giving interviews because you only have those when you’re on the winning side. I haven’t seen my child for four months, so I’d like to spend some time with family right now” said Pandya.
Also Read: Virat Kohli Points Out Where India Lost The 3rd T20I Against Australia
